Did you see our amazing new tv ad at the weekend? If you missed it, you can see it here and you can also win some amazing prizes if you can tell us how many thumbs there were in the ad.
Post apocalyptic theatre for the masses – Stomp live at The Ambassadors Theatre
Imagine that if instead of a super car, Mad Max was stuck in the outback with some old dustbins, a broom and a couple of sinks. Then imagine that the nuclear blast had left him stack full of rhythm, obsessed with sweeping his floor and with a passion for Brazilian, Calypso and African music. Then finally imagine that he walked into a Australian bar that is chock full of people suffering with the same affliction. That bar would be called Stomp.
Now this isn’t a normal West End theatre show, there is no interval and no people walking round selling ice cream. If you want that then you need to book something slightly different. However if you want to be blown away then come here as fast as you can.
There are only a few shows In the West End that stay open for than 5 years (Blood Brothers,The Lion King, Mamma Mia, Les Mis and Phantom to name a few). And there is a reason, you have to be totally different to everyone else and play to packed houses every night. Stomp is now entering it’s eight year.
This is a full on treat for the senses, 1h 40 mins of non stop performance. It’s like a hyped up Britain’s got talent, where they have fast forwarded through the singing dogs and naff comedians, and only kept in the tricks and future YouTube highlights. And it’s funny, really funny and they don’t even have to speak. They even get the audience to interact without putting pressure on (surely the hardest trick of all).
Expect to see a show that appears to be run by those annoyingly cool kids at school (those who can moonwalk, do the robot and do back flips) and make sure you are awake before you get there because these guys use every bit of the set and even perform when they are moving bits about.
And the location is perfect too. Right in the heart of the West End, close to the bars and restaurants and, because there is no annoying interval, you get out before the rest of the shows so you can get great restaurant seats, or home that little bit earlier (perfect for a school night).
The kids from Fame have grown up, got a bit dirtier and a whole lot cooler.
Stomp tickets - The Ambassadors Theatre - from only £10
Sean Collins
Sean moved back to the UK after living all over the world for years. He basically writes about shows, booze filled antics, about avoiding tourists and not paying top whack to get in anywhere. He still misses Mark and Lard being on Radio 1 and is possibly the clumsiest person in the Northern Hemisphere. Also he is stupidly scared of dogs and thinks that everyone needs at least 7 cups of coffee a day to keep their heart running (all with biscuits to dunk of course).
play a part in tv history
On Saturday 28 February at 9.50pm, watch us on telly and win a big bundle of good stuff.
We're creating a television first - and we want you to be part of it. Tune into ITV on Saturday 28 February at 9.50pm. Three 60 second adverts will be aired, straight after each other, starting on ITV, moving to Channel 4 and then ending on Channel 5.
It's going to be the world's first Mexican wave of thumbs up... spanning the channels and spreading the good stuff, right around the UK. Watch the three adverts and guess the number of thumbs you see.
Visit this special page after the ad and tell us how many thumbs you think you saw. Simple!
- You could win a great big bundle of good stuff including:
- a two-night 4* city break to Barcelona for 2
- a two-night spa break at Thoresby Hall, Nottinghamshire with use of spa and treatments
- a pair of theatre tickets to see Sister Act
- a 3 course meal for 2 and a bottle of wine at Brasserie Roux, London
- plus a Silverstone Thrill drive experience in Northamptonshire for two
- And we have great runner-up prizes with 5 four night stays in top hotels.
Visit here to enter on Saturday night
Dan Pilkington
Kate, Dan and Sean’s need to know – our top 6 deals of the week
Sorry it’s only short but here are our favourite deals that we’ve spotted so far this week
- T in the park tickets – available 9am on Friday
- Ski holidays for £99 – available 10 am on Thursday
- 50% off tickets to Carousel
- Pamper day - £20 spa deal, includes a treatment and you can take your mate for free
- Have a meal on us – free meal with top show tickets
- Eurostar to Paris + champagne for £69 return
Kate is our resident ski angel and is unbelievably competitive. Never ever ever ever ask to join her training groups and if you see her coming down the mountain then get out of her way quickly or you will be sorry. She also loves The Killers, Kings of Leon and Chris Hoy.
Dan is a former music journalist, is our resident musical expert and loves bands named after inanimate objects. Never ever ever ever ask him if he knows anywhere good to go when the pub shuts,unless you want sit on sofas held together with gaffer tape in bar that only sells 1 lager (always overly strong). It will however have a great stereo and will have featured on the album cover of a 1960s EP that only ever sold 60 copies,
Sean moved back to the UK after living all over the world for years. He basically writes about shows, booze filled antics, about avoiding tourists and not paying top whack to get in anywhere. He still misses Mark and Lard being on Radio 1 and is possibly the clumsiest person in the Northern Hemisphere. Also he is stupidly scared of dogs and thinks that everyone needs at least 7 cups of coffee a day to keep their heart running (all with biscuits to dunk of course).
more bang for your buck – The Killers live
Is there anyone on Planet Earth that hasn’t heard of The Killers? Perennial band of the year, best album winners and best single winners at awards ceremonies across the globe, they have now started to dominate the best live act category as well. We’re a picky bunch here at the pink palace and we have argued for weeks about where is best to see them; at a festival or in an arena. The split tends to happen on gender lines. Kate is favouring the arena option whereas Dan and I are sticking up for the rather more raw setting of the festival mosh pits.
Kate and Grace went to see them at the 02 arena in London this week. Here’s what they thought:
It’s brill, but you really want to be in the standing area in front of the stage, the people down there look like they are having so much fun. The set is ace (not quite Take That or Timberlake esque, but still great). They open to Spaceman and go through a really long encore. You defo get your money’s worth because the set itself is around 90 mins long. It’s great singalong fun but you need to do two things. Firstly get in the mood before you go as they start their show earlier than most bands, and secondly resist the urge to leave early. One of the best things of the night is seeing (the divine) Mr Flowers salute the crowd that sing every single word of Mr Brightside back at him. Yes girls, he really is that fit. The encore is 4 songs long and contains the classics so you need to stay. Also don’t try and hold a drink in your hands for the last 30 mins because you will dancing far too hard and will certainly loose all your hand eye coordination. Brilliant night, but really jealous of the peeps who got stand at the front.
Dan and I went to see the Killers at festivals across Europe. Here what we thought:
The first thing that you notice about the Killers at a festival is the size of the crowd. The second thing is the noise. When these guys are headlining it doesn’t matter who is on the other stages, there will be no one there. So bear in mind that if you are at a festival which sells 90’000 tickets, there will 90’000 people in the crowd so don’t wander over with 5 minutes to go and expect the best view. And bring the earplugs, because you are getting a wall of sound and noise coming up at you full pace for 90 minutes. Have a think about your favourite Killers songs and see if you can find a slow song or a ballad. You can’t; they don’t make them. So prepare yourself to jump, sing, be jumped on and sung into for the whole set. This is the festival equivalent of the last 20 minutes at your best mates wedding (but 90 minutes long). Forget taking drinks into the crowd, forget leaving half way through for a toilet break, forget finding your mates in there and forget staying in the same spot the whole gig. These guys are brilliant live, and they know it. Prepare yourself for a really long encore and for aching muscles all of the next day. Are they the best live band in the world (for me that’s the Stereophonics and for Dan it is Glasvegas), but are they the best at a festival – hell yeah. (oh and girls that isn’t lager that is being thrown backwards from the front).
Sean Collins
Sean moved back to the UK after living all over the world for years. He basically writes about booze filled antics, about avoiding tourists and not paying top whack to get in anywhere. He still misses Mark and Lard being on Radio 1 and is possibly the clumsiest person in the Northern Hemisphere. Also he is stupidly scared of dogs and thinks that everyone needs at least 7 cups of coffee a day to keep their heart running (all with biscuits to dunk of course).
Dan and Grace's festival tit bits
T In The Park is once again looking like a cracker this year, with greying, cheese-making legends Blur headlining alongside The Killers and the now stadium-humping Kings Of Leon. Lower down the bill is looking equally exciting with the much anticipated return of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Katy Perry for your faux-lesbian pop kicks.
Our band to look out for at this year’s festivals is Ra Ra Riot. Fresh from supporting Vampire Weekend across Europe last year, they’re an exhilarating concoction of Arcade Fire’s orchestral beauty and the poppy thrills of the aforementioned Weekend and The Strokes. Don’t miss them.
Dan Pilkington
Dan is a former music journalist, is our resident musical expert and loves bands named after inanimate objects. Never ever ever ever ask him if he knows anywhere good to go when the pub shuts,unless you want sit on sofas held together with gaffer tape in bar that only sells 1 lager (always overly strong). It will however have a great stereo and will have featured on the album cover of a 1960s EP that only ever sold 60 copies,
The 5 part guide to hosting your own festival
We’ve all seen the adverts featuring a group of guys doing karaoke on the main stage at an unnamed festival. Genius, pure genius; but how could you host your own festival? And even if it is just you and your mates, surely you would need to be top of the bill!
We set our crack team of festival specialists the mission of helping you with some ideas of how to do it.
Continue reading "The 5 part guide to hosting your own festival" »
The best Ibizan summer
The summer clubbing season starts with a bang today as the most famous club night in the world opens it doors to the public. In 2007 Manumission moved over the road from the famous Privilege club that it had occupied since 1993 to it’s San Rafealean neighbour Amnesia.
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